Searching
by DrawnToDarkness
Summary: The Outer Zone was no more her home as Kansas. DG/Cain.


For Elena, who requested the scene from my one-liners and snippets story be expanded on. Thank you so much for all of your kind words this week, Elena. They made a huge difference in a difficult week.

#

The Outer Zone was no more her home than Kansas.

Following the events of the eclipse, the downfall of the Witch, DG had allowed herself to believe, just for a moment, that she had finally found her home.

But the relief at being reunited gave way to reality, the magnitude of what everyone had been through during her long absence finally struck and she realised...

She realised she didn't truly belong amongst them.

Her father had seen and done things he wouldn't speak of, not even to her mother. His persona as the Seeker lurked under the polished surface of the Consort. It edged closer to coming out every time someone said or did something that upset a member of his family and DG wondered if he'd ever go back to being the gentle-natured man she only vaguely remembered.

Her mother was powerless, in the magical sense of the word, and that left her vulnerable. Not that the Queen allowed it to show, of course. She wore her resolve like a cloak, drawing it around herself so she could assert herself as the true ruler of the OZ once more. But being the Queen the OZ needed left little time for her to be the mother DG needed.

Azkadellia was different; her gentle nature had been twisted by the Witch but was starting to break through the Sorceress's mask. She had their parent's full attention when they weren't busy doing their duty to the realm, and she had the constant companionship of Ambrose, who'd reasserted himself over Glitch after the brain had been reunited with the body, and Raw, who had been appointed her personal healer to help keep the worst of the memories at bay.

DG had suggested it, but she hadn't known how much it would hurt to see two of her closest friends' close ranks around her sister, leaving little room for herself in their midst.

What she didn't know was that they all worried about her, too.

Her parents loved her from a distance but didn't want to come on too strong for fear of scaring their precious child away from them again. They fought against their advisors who insisted she needed to learn her place, telling them that their youngest needed time to adjust.

She didn't know how many nights her mother cried in her father's arms, lamenting the choice she'd had to make to send DG away, regretting that one careless moment of letting their girls wander too far had led to a lifetime of grief and a burden of guilt they shared but which weighed heaviest on DG's shoulders.

Her sister watched her from the balcony of her room at Finaqua, where the family had relocated so the Witch's tower could be destroyed, a blight against the landscape no one in the OZ wished to remain.

Azkadellia longed to go to her sister, to take her in her arms and beg for forgiveness for letting the Witch kill her so many annuals ago. But she was afraid to do so, the remnants of a voice that was not her own echoing in her mind, telling her she needed to stay away, that to get close to DG again would be to hurt her.

It was a voice Raw tried to combat, for Azkadellia's sake, yes, but mostly for DG's. He sensed the younger sister's anguish and loneliness and renewed his efforts to help her sister break the last of the Witch's hold on her. DG had helped him find his family again; he owed it to her to help her find hers.

Ambrose and Glitch argued over the best course of action on a daily – hourly – basis. While Ambrose demanded they be there for Azkadellia, for the young girl he'd once known and still saw glimpses of from time to time, Glitch insisted it was DG who needed them, DG who was left to wander the palace alone.

Neither knew about the demons she fought, the voice in her own head.

No one knew how deeply she felt the guilt for all that had happened, no one could know how vividly her imagination painted the blame and recrimination on the faces of those around her in place of the sympathy and longing to support her that actually lingered in their eyes.

So DG wandered the endless hallways alone, her bare feet silent against the cold floor. The guards who saw her lowered their gaze, both out of deference to her position as Princess and hero and because they couldn't bear to see the young woman looking so lost.

A letter was sent, to the fourth member of the small group who had searched the realm for the emerald.

No reply was received.

#

Sleepless nights were becoming the norm for her. A lack of appetite had her losing weight she didn't have in excess. She was restless, searching for something she couldn't name, a sense of belonging though she didn't remember how it felt.

Her mother coaxed her into a gown of silver and blue; her father gave her a proud smile when he saw her in it.

Having been starved of their attention for so long, DG felt overwhelmed when she had it.

At the top of the staircase that led into the ballroom, her sister took her hand as their names were announced.

The glow between their palms made the waiting crowds gasp in awe and delight at the return of light to their land; DG stared at it and wondered why she just felt numb instead of warmed by it.

Glitch pushed Ambrose aside for a dance, taking her into his arms and twirling her around the room as he joked about his perfect rhythm; she didn't notice the worry in his face when the teasing failed to reach her.

Raw held her arm as she was introduced to the members of his tribe who'd travelled to the palace for the occasion, wanting to introduce her to the pack he considered her to be a part of. He growled low under his breath when she made her excuses and left, sensing that she felt like an intruder instead of one of them.

Too much time had passed, he worried. Neglected her for too long. Thought they were doing the right thing by giving her space but instead had only succeeded in pushing her further away.

He spoke of his concerns to Glitch and Azkadellia, who spoke of them to the Queen and Consort. The five of them huddled together on the dais away from the crowds, watching the youngest princess with sorrowful eyes, wanting to reach her but wondering if they'd left it too late.

A small commotion distracted them; the arrival of late guests to the party.

The two Cain men also hailed as heroes of the eclipse, a Commander and Captain respectively, made their way through the crowds towards them. Warm greetings were exchanged, hearty handshakes and claps on the back that were almost hugs but not quite.

The person who would have been doing the hugging was missing, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"We wrote to you, Cain," Glitch told him quietly, noticing the Commander's cool gaze searching the ballroom, seeking a familiar face. "Did you get it?"

"Two days ago," Cain answered distractedly.

"We rode flat out to get here," Jeb supplied when his father fell silent. "Is Princess DG...?"

"She was here a moment ago," Azkadellia said softly. "She must have slipped outside,"

"I hope not." Jeb shrugged a shoulder when he felt the curious gazes of the royal family upon him. "The storm hit just as we got here. You probably couldn't hear the thunder above the music in here but it's a wild one."

"If DG's gone outside..." The Queen clutched Ahamo's arm, her lavender eyes wide with concern. "My love..."

"She might have gone to the library," Ahamo assured her quickly. "You know she has a tendency do that."

"I'll go and look," Glitch offered, earning a smile of gratitude from Azkadellia as Raw rumbled that he'd go, too.

"But what if she did go outside?" Azkadellia murmured, her gaze straying to the balcony doors where she'd last seen her sister. "What if she's out there now, alone and cold?"

"If she's out there, I'll find her." Cain touched his son's shoulder briefly, earning a small nod in response. Satisfied that the safety of the royal family was in good hands, the older Cain was determined as he strode from the room in search of the missing princess.

#

The wind howled around her but she didn't hear it above the silence ringing in her ears. Rain soaked through the thin material of the gown her mother insisted she wear, causing it to cling to her like a second skin.

She didn't feel the cold; she was numb to it.

She was numb to everything.

The gardens were once her favourite place to wander, the scent of the wildflowers her mother preferred a comforting reminder of a childhood lost. The delicate fragrance was lost to her now, drowned out by the rain and by the misery that surrounded her.

Would they notice if she kept walking and didn't turn back?

Would they notice if she just... disappeared?

Contemplating the possibility of just ceasing to exist, DG didn't realise she was crying, her tears mingling with the raindrops on her cheeks. She didn't realise how close she'd gotten to the edge of the lake, didn't realise she'd lost her shoes at some point until her bare toes dug into the muddy banks for purchase to keep her from slipping.

She didn't realise she was in danger of falling until she started to fall, didn't realise she wasn't alone until strong hands gripped her arms in a steel-like grasp and yanked her back from the edge.

In more ways than one, she would later reveal.

Spun around to face her would-be rescuer, any words she might have had for him – words of gratitude, words of anger – died on her lips.

One took their place.

"Cain."

He pulled her close, giving her the barest glimpse of light blue eyes as stormy as the skies above them. His lips brushed her forehead, her nose, her cheek, before finally settling against her lips.

"Don't do that to me again," he murmured his voice low but somehow she heard it above the wind around them. "Don't ever do that to me again, DG."

Moving willingly into the circle of his embrace as they stood there together, two figures entwined as one against the oncoming storm, DG clutched his shirt with her hands, hiding her tears against his shoulder.

In Wyatt Cain's arms, DG found her home.

#

End


End file.
